The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital in Kansas City, Kansas; and the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. There are also educational and research sites in Garden City, Hays, Leavenworth, Parsons, and Topeka, an agricultural education center in rural north Douglas County, and branches of the medical school in Salina and Wichita. The university is a member of the Association of American Universities and classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

Founded March 21, 1865, the university was opened in 1866 under a charter granted by the Kansas State Legislature in 1864 and legislation passed in 1863 under the state constitution, which was adopted two years after the 1861 admission of the former Kansas Territory as the 34th state into the Union.

As of fall 2025, 27,212 students were enrolled at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses with an additional 3,957 students enrolled at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) for a total enrollment of 31,169 students across the three campuses. Overall, the university (including KUMC) employed 3,421 faculty members in fall 2025.

Kansas's athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I sports as the Jayhawks, as members of the Big 12 Conference. They field 16 varsity sports, as well as club-level sports for ice hockey, rugby, men's volleyball, soccer, basketball, rock climbing, triathlon, cross country, track, swim, pickleball, table tennis, and water skiing.